1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to a shopping cart and, more particularly, to a means for preventing the unauthorized removal or theft of shopping carts from store parking areas.
2. Description of the Prior Art
As is well known in the art, several problems and difficulties are encountered in providing suitable means for preventing the unauthorized removal and theft of shopping carts.
Various apparatuses and safetly systems have been tried and are now in actual use. However, most apparatuses have been rather restrictive and very costly to implement. Further, the various restrictive systems that are presently employed irritate the shopper, particularly those that have barriers of fences immediately surrounding the store building. With these barriers the shopping carts cannot be taken to the parking lot at all; and, thus, a person having large quantities of groceries must leave his cart parked along the store perimeter while he first goes to pick up his car and brings it to where his cart was left standing. During peak shopping hours, this can cause delay because customers in their cars will be lined up waiting to pick up their groceries. Also, there is the ever present possibility that someone might steal unattended groceries or merchandise left standing--and which have already been paid for.
Because of the above problems, there has been a sharp decline in business where such a system has been employed.
Various mechanical apparatuses have also been employed; but these also have not been proven to be successful, due to the fact that they limit carts from being used in the parking areas.
However, U.S. Pat. No. 3,772,994 discloses a shopping-cart-control system that allows the carts to be taken to parked cars in the surrounding store parking lots. In this arrangement, the cart is connected by a chain to a member slidably mounted in a track, the track being disposed in the ground of the parking area.
Another method of preventing theft of carts is where the cart is provided with a brake unit, allowing the cart to be wheeled only relatively short distances, at which time the brake automatically engages a cooperating surface, preventing any further movement of the cart.